Not Exactly Bonus Content: Consolidating the Consolidators - Issue #49
There is such a thing as being paralyzed by too many choices. Here in the middle of 2022, it feels (to me at least) like the world is full of overwhelming choices. What streaming service should you watch tonight? How much are you paying for it? What podcast should you listen to? What platform is it on? All of them? Which app do you have downloaded on your phone?
Want to pick up an actual print book? Should you buy it on Amazon? On Bookshop.org? Go to your local indie bookstore? Is there a Barnes & Noble nearby? Or maybe a Books A Million? Or a Half Price Books?
Need a car? Buy it from a private owner or CarMax or Carvana.com? Heck, I have no idea anymore. Go to the dealership or order it online? Maybe they can drop it off at your house.
While there are a lot of brands, they’re often owned by a handful of companies. Harris-Teeter, for example, is owned by Kroger. But so is Mariano’s here in Chicagoland. Dillons, Fred Meyer, Fry's, King Soopers, QFC and Ralphs: All are all owned by Kroger.
There may be 42 different brands of automobiles available in the US, but of the "Big Three", only two are US owned. The vaunted Tesla electric car? Tesla may control 75% of the electric car market in the US, but electric cars make up only 5% of the total car market.
There may be thousands of book publishers in the US, but it's five (Penguin/Random House, Hachette, Harper-Collins, Simon & Schuster, MacMillan) that control 80% of that market.
What does this have to do with magazines you ask? Well, you’ll see below. But I also wanted to share with you what I have experienced as part of my professional world "consolidated:"
When I first got into the magazine business as an adult, there were perhaps about 300 independently owned magazine wholesalers who distributed magazines, books and newspapers throughout the US. They were supplied with magazines by more than ten different “national distributors” of magazines and books. Some of these “national distributors” were owned by larger magazine companies (Warner Publisher Services, for example. Or Dell Distribution). Others were independent. One of the biggest benefits of this expansive network was that over the course of a decade, I managed to work in 47 of the lower 48 states. I had friends or acquaintances in almost all of those states.
In 2022, there is one US owned “national distributor” of magazines of any size. It is owned by a company that also owns a major publishing house, the largest magazine wholesaler, and controls the merchandising of check out racks.
Two magazine wholesale companies control more than 90% of the magazine distribution business. By my count, there are maybe three independent magazine wholesale companies left that can trace their roots back to the beginning of the industry in the 1960s.
Where there used to be several different trade associations that promoted “best practices” and the professionalization of the industry, in recent years this has winnowed its way down to one. And membership of that one organization was reduced to 16 members according to its website.
Earlier this week, that organization, MBR.org (Magazines and Books at Retail) announced that it would be closing it doors at the end of this month. Note that this year has also seen the closure of numerous legacy print titles that will pull millions of printed (and digital) copies out of circulation.
So, what does this all mean? Is it finally the end of print?
No it does not. I does mean, however, that we are seeing tail end of the life cycle of a way of doing business for printed magazines. It’s not the end of the world, although for some it's felt like that for a long time. But it is the end of a way of doing business. Could we have "landed" the magazine business in a better place? More capable to handle the disruptions caused by retail consolidation and the rise of digital media?
Of course we could have with perfect hindsight. But we didn't. So here we are.
I have a lot of respect for the opinions of Bo Sacks (of the Bo Sacks newsletter and Precision Media) and Tony Silber (of Media Post and Long Hill Media). They both posted some thoughts this week about the demise of MBR:
BoSacks Speaks Out: Magazines and Books at Retail Association (MBR) will be closing — myemail.constantcontact.com On The Ebb And Flow Of Brands In Hot Media Categories Courtesy of BoSacks & The Precision Media Group America's Oldest e-newsletter est.1993 www.bosacks.com Join Our Mailing List A man only learns by
Thoughts On The Demise Of Another Print-Media Association 06/15/2022 — www.mediapost.com Thoughts On The Demise Of Another Print-Media Association - 06/15/2022
I won't say that I disagree with either point of view although I do think that long term, magazines as a form of media may have a more ubiquitous future than, say, a buggy whip or horse drawn carriage. As always, Bo's point about the loss of networking opportunities is spot on. On the newsstand side of my world, the list of employed people I can talk to across the country has dwindled dramatically in the past decade.
Across the pond, however, there may be a glimmer of what the future could look like. The International Magazine Centre, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, focuses on support and services for small publishers. Meanwhile, other organizations like FIPP continue to offer meetings and services to help publishers expand their media opportunities. Likewise, the longstanding more print centric organization, Distripress continues to welcome new members from around the world and is hosting their first post-pandemic event this fall.
Can we strengthen these organizations by expanding awareness of them to US based publishers? I certainly hope so.
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